CVS Caremark assists iPad tutoring program

The grant from CVS Caremark will help purchase iPads that students from OC’s School of Education will use to help tutor children from Edmond Public Schools.

OC’s education majors conduct a weekly reading clinic for students in second through fifth grades. As part of this free tutoring initiative, OC’s students use iPad applications to help get the children up to the reading levels for their respective grades.

“We need to do anything we can to encourage students to read and be successful. A lot of these children have struggled with reading for so long that they’re not confident in themselves,” said OC associate professor of education Dr. Rhonda Morris, who leads the program. “The iPad apps give the students immediate feedback, which really helps them, and they’re finding apps on their own afterward to duplicate the experience.”

The clinic is part of the last literacy class OC’s students take before they begin their student teaching. Oklahoma Christian has the second-highest state education certification exam pass rate in Oklahoma.

“Teachers talk about how prepared our students and graduates are,” Morris said. “They’re getting the knowledge base they need and they know what kind of interventions to use to help students succeed.

Oklahoma Christian was selected to receive a grant through the CVS Caremark Community Grants 2011 grant application process. Grants were awarded to organizations that share a common vision with CVS Caremark’s All Kids Can program, which strives to empower children with and without disabilities to reach their full potential.

The goals of the All Kids Can program are to increase access to early-intervention programs that help children develop strong foundations early in life, reduce barriers to medical rehabilitation and health care services, and create greater opportunities for physical activity and creativity.

“We are committed to making a positive impact in the communities where we live and work and the CVS Caremark Community grants program does just that by supporting organizations that truly make a difference in the lives of children and families,” said Dennis Palmer, senior vice president of CVS/pharmacy West Division Operations. “We are proud to support the work that Oklahoma Christian does in the community.”

Oklahoma Christian has raised $10,500 to date for the iPad tutoring program. Dr. Morris started the project last year as a pilot program, and a $5,000 challenge grant from the Kerr Foundation, this CVS Caremark grant, and gifts from private donors are helping OC expand the initiative.

Oklahoma Christian is recognized as one of the best universities in the western United States by U.S. News and World Report and The Princeton Review.

OC is nationally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and has discipline-specific accreditations from ABET (computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering), the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Accreditation, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, the National Association of Schools of Music, and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education.

The university offers undergraduate programs in more than 60 fields of study and graduate programs in business administration, engineering, ministry, and divinity. OC’s MBA program is offered both on-site and online.

In addition to its Oklahoma City campus, OC has study abroad opportunities in Europe, Honduras and the Pacific Rim. This year, Oklahoma Christian opened a Learning Support Center in Kigali, Rwanda, allowing Rwandan students to study in OC’s online MBA program.